Close-knit Bonds Form From Sweaters

For refugees forced to flee their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs, the gift of a hand-knitted sweater brings more than warmth to the body. It brings warmth to the heart.

"It tells the refugees that there are people here ready to love them," said Marilyn Sweeny, director of World Relief, a non-profit organization that helps resettle refugees, with locations in Wheaton, Chicago and in communities across the nation.

Among those who care are about 20 women who live at Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream. They get together on Mondays for about an hour and a half to knit clothes for those in need.

The project of knitting sweaters for refugees from World Relief began with a donation of wool from Suzanne Abbate of Hebron.

"I have some sheep and goats that are pets, and I have a surplus of wool," Abbate said. When she heard that the knitting group would be willing to make sweaters for refugees out of her wool, she was delighted to donate it, she said, knowing the fleece would be keeping someone else warm.

"They're making something very worthwhile," Abbate said.

The knitters love handling the rich wool donated for the project, said Cora Maltese, another knitter. "It was wonderful to work with," she said.

They also know the value of a warm piece of clothing.

"We have been so blessed," knitter Trudie Claus said. "We like this project because we can give to someone else who has less than we do."

Several of the thick, soft sweaters, some with elaborate cable design work, on a table nearby serve as a testament to the kind of fine handiwork done by the women.

About 400 new refugees come to DuPage County every year under the auspices of the federal government, which partners with agencies such as World Relief to provide services to help the families adjust when they arrive, Sweeny said.

About 160 refugees came from Kosovo last year, she said, and others came from countries such as Bosnia, Somalia, Sudan, Vietnam and the former Soviet Union.

"They are really from all over--wherever there are countries where the people have been persecuted to the point where they cannot go back," Sweeny said. "These are people who have not left of their own free will. They have been forced out.

"Sometimes someone comes and knocks on their door and says he's coming in 24 hours, and if they're there, they're going to be shot," she said. "There's no time to pack, so when they leave, they really have nothing. So the sweater is a physical material thing that can provide warmth. But more important, it says there are people here who are concerned about them."

Sweeny read a letter from a woman who had been relocated here: "I thank you because you helped me to get on my feet again and I will never forget that. Thank you for being my friends in need. With you on my side I don't feel alone."

The knitters have been getting together now for 10 years. They also knit nearly 300 caps a year that they send to an inner-city project.

"We have been so thankful for these ladies," Sweeny said. "We're just thrilled that they're doing this. It's such a sweet thing for them to do, and they've spent a lot of time on the project."

Gathered around a long table, the women, some of them in their 90s, talked little. But their busy hands spoke volumes of their caring hearts.